Every Rose
by MadameGiry25
Summary: Minerva McGonagall loved Severus Snape with all of her heart and she never stopped loving him. Finally, on her deathbed, she realizes that she doesn't want want her secret to die with her. So she makes arrangements for a certain former student of hers to be the only one to know...


**_Representing Hogwarts for the first round of the Triwizard Tournament at Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges!_**

Prompts: Candles, memories, chocolate

Pairing: Minerva/Severus

* * *

"I beg your pardon for intruding at such a late hour, Mr. Potter, but it is a matter of some urgency."

"That's quite all right, Mr…?" Harry looked questioningly at the stout wizard as he led the man into the sitting room.

"Sutter. Leonard Sutter." Mr. Sutter set his bag down on the coffee table before looking back at Harry with his arms crossed. He was a short man with a rather ridiculously unkempt handlebar mustache that covered most of the lower half of his face. At least, Harry was fairly certain that it was supposed to be taken as a handlebar. He could have been mistaken, though.

"Mr. Sutter." Harry motioned for the strange visitor to take a seat. As he did so, he summoned a bottle of butterbeer from the kitchen and held it out to Mr. Sutter by way of invitation.

"Yes, please, thank you," said Mr. Sutter all in one breath. "That's most kind of you."

Harry poured the beverage into two crystal glasses that he had conjured with his wand and offered one to the visitor. "Now then," he said, settling himself in his chair and taking a sip from his glass. "What's all this about?"

Mr. Sutter cleared his throat in a very businesslike way; it struck Harry as amusing how quickly the man was able to pull himself together into a professional. "It is my sad duty to inform you of the death of Minerva McGonagall, former headmistress of Hogwarts School."

Harry blinked and allowed the news to wash over him. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

And that was the truth. He had been aware of the fact that his former professor's health had been in a state of decline. They had all known that it was only a matter of time. Still, to hear that she had actually passed away was a very difficult truth.

Mr. Sutter allowed him a moment before continuing. "That being said, I am here as a representative of her estate. It was her wish for you to receive the news of her will as immediately as possible after the time of her death."

"And that's why you are delivering the news in person?"

"Yes, it is." Mr. Sutter pulled a thick roll of paper from his jacket pocket and cleared his throat once more. "After the usual legal jargon, she leaves you and your wife her house in Scotland." He glanced up searchingly at Harry before he began to read again. "She also leaves you a small vial of her memories 'in the hope that you will find them to be most instructive'." He pulled said vial from his pocket and handed in to Harry.

Harry gently cupped the small vial, watching the shimmering liquid dance and swirl within the glass. "Thank you, Mr. Sutter."

"I was also instructed to bring you a Ministry pensieve so that you might view the memories in question." Mr. Sutter waved his wand and conjured the pensieve in the form of a ceramic bowl. "Naturally, I cannot leave this device with you for any length of time, so I must insist that you use it now. Then I will return it to the Ministry library."

"I understand, Mr. Sutter," Harry shook his mess of hair from his eyes and crossed his arms. "May I request a bit of privacy while I use the pensieve? You're welcome to remain in the kitchen with my wife."

"Of course, Mr. Potter." Mr. Sutter got to his feet and stuffed the will back into his pocket. "Take as much time as you require."

"Thanks."

Alone in the room, Harry gently set the pensieve down on the coffee table and eyed it for a long moment. Then, he picked up the vial of memories and delicately uncorked it. His hand carefully tipped the sapphire blue contents into the bowl, watching the fluid wash over the sides and coat the ceramic. The light from the candles that Ginny loved so much reflected off of the surface of the water, flickering and dancing.

He took a deep breath and plunged his face into the water, allowing the silky essence of memory to slide over his features.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall sat at her desk, simply trying to breathe. In and out. In and out. In and out. In and…what comes next?

Echoes pounded through her head in the form of pain and guilt that coursed through her blood.

"_Snape killed Dumbledore."_

"_All Snape's fault…"_

"_Just ran off, the coward."_

"_Good riddance."_

She simply refused to believe what they said. Severus Snape would never have murdered Albus Dumbledore in cold blood. Not the Severus Snape that she knew. He wouldn't. He couldn't. He just couldn't.

"Minerva."

She jumped at the sound of the voice coming from her fireplace. Her head twisted about, trying to find the speaker. She knew that voice. "Severus?"

And there he was, his head floating within the flames. His face was streaked with dirt and blood and his eyes looked slightly hollow. But he was there. He was alive.

"Severus, are you all right?" Before she knew what was happening, she found herself kneeling before the fire and tracing the lines of blood on his face. "What happened?" Her voice cracked and she bit her lip. "What's going on? Potter informed me that you murdered Albus."

Snape pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. "Minerva, many things have happened in the last few hours. Things that I should have been able to tell you about before they happened."

"What kind of things?"

"I can't tell you. It's important for your safety that you don't know." His eyes met hers and they locked. "But I need you to know something. No matter what they've told you, I've not changed from the man that you knew. Just know that I'm still on your side. I love you and that will never change."

She swallowed hard, taking in this rush of information. "I love you too," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. "But I don't understand."

"I don't intend for you to understand. You simply can't understand at this point. And that's all right. That's the way it needs to be. For both our sakes. And for Albus."

"For Albus," she repeated, the tears coming faster now. "Is he the reason for all this secrecy?"

"I'm acting under his orders. And his orders are for no one else to know what I've really done until the time is right." He paused, searching her face. "Are you all right, Minerva? You look dreadful." His eyes softened and he offered her a concerned smile, telling her that the scars on his face had not scarred his spirit.

She gave a watery laugh through her tears. "I'll be all right, Severus. I love you, my darling."

He gave a gasp and disappeared from the fire with a pop. She sat back on her heels, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and blew her nose, heaving a sigh.

There was a knock at the door and she looked up. "Come in," she said, her voice still thick from crying.

The door opened to reveal Madame Poppy Pomfrey. "How're you doing, Minerva? I know this must have been quite a shock for you."

"I'm all right, Poppy," she said with an unconvincing smile. "It was indeed a very great shock."

"No, you're not all right," said Poppy decidedly. "But you will be. Everything will work out all right in the end, you'll see." She smiled, spreading her arms wide. "But I know just what will make you feel better right now."

"What's that?"

"Chocolate."

Minerva laughed, in spite of herself. "That sounds good, Poppy. Thank you."

* * *

Harry lifted his head from the water, allowing the memories to wash from his face and inhaling several times. His mind was racing with what he'd seen.

"Are you just about finished, Mr. Potter?" asked Mr. Sutter, coming in from the kitchen. "It's getting very late and I'd like to return to the Ministry."

"Yes, of course, Mr. Sutter." Harry absently pushed the bowl in the general direction of the man.

"Are you quite well, Mr. Potter?" asked Mr. Sutter, vanishing the bowl with a wave of his wand.

"Yes, of course, Mr. Sutter," said Harry in a monotone, not really listening."

Mr. Sutter raised his eyebrow. "I see. Well, I'll be going now. There's no need to show me out. I can find the way."

Ginny entered the room, just as Mr. Sutter was leaving. "What was all that about?"

Harry didn't answer for a long moment. Then he got to his feet and took his wife in his arms. He kissed her and offered her a smile. "Severus Snape was giving me one of the final pieces to the puzzle. I think that there was a great deal going on between Snape and Professor McGonagall. A great deal that no one else knew about."

"Really?"

"Really. By the way. We've just inherited a rather large and splendid house. In Scotland."

"In Scotland?" she echoed, a smile crossing her face. "By whom?"

"By one of the most accomplished and secretive professors that Hogwarts has ever seen."

Ginny looked at him for a long moment before she began to laugh. "I love you, Harry Potter."


End file.
